Sunday, November 29, 2015

November 29, 2015 (UATODAY)Advanced tank "Azovets" is ready for testing and
battlefield. In this largely abandoned former industrial park in the Kyiv
suburbs, a new weapon is being developed. It's one which could potentially
revolutionize modern warfare. The Russian-led war in eastern Ukrainehas
sparked the revival of Ukrainian arms industry. This tank has been designed to be used for in-town operations. The tank is armed with twin quick-firing aircraft guns and equipped with an enhanced defense system.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

November 24, 2015 (www.independent.co.uk) A Russian aircraft SU-24 jet has been shot down by Turkey as President Francois
Hollande prepares to meet President Barack Obama to discuss the international
strategy against Isis in the wake of the Paris attacks.Rebels claim they shot both pilots dead as
they parachuted to the ground.

The footage
appears to show an aircraft bursting into flames as it plummets towards the
ground in the Hatay province, near the Syrian border. It is believed to have
been an SU-24 jet, operated by both Syrian and Russian forces in the area, but
both forces have confirmed the plane was Russian. Turkey’s Dogan news agency
claimed the pilot was given as many as 10 warnings as it entered the country’s
territory before it was brought down by two Turkish F16 jets at an altitude of
6,000m.A Russian helicopter that was
searching for the crew of the shot-down warplane has itself been shot down, hit
by rebel fire in Syria. One serviceman was killed, Russia's military said. At another press conference, Nato
general secretary Jens Stoltenberg has said "we stand in solidarity with
Turkey" following the downing of the Russian plane. Speaking about whether the plane really did enter Turkish airspace,
Stoltenberg said the intelligence provided by Nato members was consistent with
what Turkey claim. Obama agreed at his press conference, saying: "Turkey,
like every country, has the right to defend its territory and its airspace."

November 23, 2015 (US Department of Defense) The United States has begun the
second phase of its Fearless Guardian mission to train and equip Ukrainian
forces, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis said today. The United
States has committed more than $265 million in equipment and training to the
mission, Davis told reporters at the Pentagon.

The
effort, which Congress approved in 2014, is to help Ukraine better monitor and
secure its border, operate more safely and effectively, and preserve and
enforce its territorial integrity, the spokesman said."This is part of our
ongoing efforts to contribute to Ukraine's long-term military reform and
professionalism, and to help improve Ukraine's internal defense capabilities
and training capacity," Davis said.

The
phase that began today will train up to five battalions of Ministry of Defense
personnel and one battalion of special operations forces personnel, he said. U.S.
forces just completed training Ukrainian national guard forces. About
300 U.S. soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade are participating in the
training, which is taking place in western Ukraine. NATO allies and other U.S.
personnel are participating as well.

Davis
said that in addition to the training, the United States will be working with
the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on a training center and other
institution-level development.The Ministry of Defense training will be conducted at
the International Peacekeeping and Security Center at Yavoriv, and the special
operations forces training will be conducted in Khmelnitsky.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

November 16, 2015 (The Voice of Ukraine) On Monday, Chairperson
of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman started his official two-day
visit to the Kingdom of Sweden and Republic of Finland. He visited the
National Archives and "future city" of Hammarby Sjostad in Stockholm.

The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada looked through
the progenitor of the Constitution of Pylyp Orlyk and studied conceptual and
major principles of construction of modern cities using brand new technologies,
energy saving concepts, and innovations in the field of provision of
housing-public utility services.

"I'd like the decentralization constitutional
amendments to be looked through the very same way in some 300 years,"
Groysman said during his visit to the National Archives. He also added that
final voting for the amendments to the Basic Law "will be the last
decision required to turn Ukraine into a modern European state."

Sunday, November 15, 2015

November 15, 2015 Ukrainian manufacturer Antonov plans to display the An-178 twin-turbofan transport, making its Dubai Airshow debut. The aircraft, a derivative of the An-158 regional airliner, made its first flight on May 4. Marketed as a military airliner and commercial freighter, the An-178 is designed to replace the widely used An-12 turboprop transport.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

November 10,
2015 (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)US Congress
has passed a defense policy bill that authorizes up to $50 million in lethal
military aid for Ukraine and mandates a White House response if Russia is
deemed to be violating a key arms control treaty. The White House said hours
after the $607 billion bill was passed by the Senate on November 10 that
President Barack Obama was likely to sign the legislation. The House of
Representatives passed a similar version of the bill last week.

President
Obama vetoed the previous bill over provisions that forbade the White House
from moving the remaining prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba
to U.S. prisons. But he appears to not be threatening a veto on this bill over
the Guantanamo prisoner issue this time.

Among
other things, the package appropriates $300 million to help Ukraine in its
fight against Russian-backed separatists. That includes $50 million for lethal
weaponry such as antiarmor weapon systems, mortars, grenade launchers, small
arms, and ammunition. The Obama administration has previously resisted calls to
provide Ukraine with lethal aid, fearing that could provoke Russia.

The legislation also sets a
deadline for the administration to tell Congress whether Russia continues to be
in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which eliminated
an entire class of nuclear-capable missiles from Europe in the late 1980s. The
State Department’s most recent arms control report released in June said Russia
was testing a missile system that violated the treaty. Moscow, for its part,
has denied the allegations and accused the United States of deploying banned
weapons systems. The legislation also includes $715 million for Iraqi forces
battling Islamic state militants.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

November 7, 2015 (UATODAY) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says
the military alliance is ready to defend its members against Russia's growing
military threat to European and global security. Russia invaded Ukraine last
year, sending Special Forces to seize Crimea and thousands of Russian troops
also occupy eastern regions of the country.

"NATO
has to be able to defend any ally against any threat. We are able to do that
today but we have also to recognize that the world is changing and therefore
NATO has to adapt and now we are addressing the challenge of what we call
long-term adaptation. We have also increased our presence in the eastern part
of the alliance with more pre-positioning and also with the establishment of
the small headquarters, the NATO force integration units and they are key
because they are the link between national forces and NATO forces,"Stoltenberg said.

Over the last two years Russia has
conducted numerous large-scale military exercises.

Most recently in October Russian
elite Special Forces carried out anti-terrorist operation drills in the
southern Krasnodar region bordering Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine.

In Moscow on Thursday, Russian
President Putin vowed to protect Russians in conflict areas and said he would
ensure Russians "living abroad" would always have "their
interests" protected.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

November 3, 2015 (UNIAN News
Agency) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed the Law "On amendments
to some legislative acts of Ukraine concerning military service in the Armed
Forces of Ukraine by foreigners and stateless persons," the presidential
press service has told UNIAN. The Law, which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada
on October 6, 2015 provides for foreigners and stateless persons to be liable
for contracted military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other ukrainian
military formations. This will enhance combat capabilities of the Armed Forces
and other military formations, as the country will receive more combat-capable,
experienced and motivated battalion-level units totaling up to a thousand
troops. Due to foreigners joining the ranks of the Ukrainian Army and other
military formations, the need for conscription of the Ukrainian citizens during
a special period mobilization will be also reduced.